Sorelle: The sisters
by LoMXD
Summary: A secret experiment within the cog to engineer fast, strong, almost invincible soldiers. Unwilling to waste fit men on the project, young girls are recruited to form "Sorelle" at "Base Iris". Many Oc's rated T for language and violence
1. Prologe part 1

It was as if we weren't ourselves anymore. We were changed into something disgusting and againt the laws of nature. Even though we became so in-human, we somehow thought it was a good thing. We were proud of what we had become...of course it took awhile to feel that way.

Sorelle , the squad in the Cog made up entirely of females. Some Voluteered, some conscripted. Either way, we existed, much to the dismay of prideful Cog officers. But we were nothing more then lab rats.

---

Rain poured on the barren landscape. The gray sky paved above the run down camp. Colonel Victor Hoffman stood in f ront of it's gates, with several cog and scientists behind him . The camp, labled " Base Iris" Was protect with a heavy steel gate that was lined with barbed wire all around. It looked more like a prison on the outside then soldiers quarters.

"Ey! Mitsuzuri ! Open up!" Hoffman yelled. From high above the ground, in a tall guard tower, a head poked over its wide window.

"Who is it?!" The girl called out. She fixed her black hair into a short stubby ponytail. Her brown eyes scanned the ground beneath her, as she held her sniper rifle close.

"Saka , it's the Colonel. I order you to open this door" Hoffman yelled. Mitsuzuri pulled back loose strands behind her ear.

"I dunno, this isn't really a door..."She teased.

"You know what I mean now open up!"

She sighed. Obviously he wasn't in the mood to be teased today.

"Alright fine! " She whined. "Let me clear you guys out first." She hollered. She turned away from the window mumbling to herself.

"What a bunch of tight asses." She cursed. At her small control table, she held down the red button by a flimsy microphone.

" Morgan, the Colonel is here. It looks like he's here for an inspection..."Mitsuzuri said. She waited for her superior's answer to glide in ov er static.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and let them in." A voice said.

"Roger. "

She flipped several switches and pulled down the main lever. Soon enough , the giant gates slowly slid open, creating an eerie screech against the muddy ground. Hoffman motioned for his entorage to follow him in. Several more of the camps inhabitants looked at them as they entered. Some where smiles of welcome, others were stares of annoyance. The rest were glares filled with hatred.

"Colonel Hoffman welcome. I take your here on inspection business?" A woman said. She walked up to Hoffman and saluted.

" Thanks for the Welcome Julie. Yeah, I'm here to check on your newest ones. But I have my team with that. Can you show them to?" He asked. The woman smiled and brushed back her long brown hair.

"Of course. And while your here, your welcome to use our facilities as well. I'm sure your men must be tired from the long trek up the mountain." She said. Her green eyes stared at the group in a way that was almost heartfelt, but somewhat incriminating. She motioned for several other girls to her.

"Quistis would you take the doctors to your wing? They are here for an inspection." Julie asked.

The girl named Quistis bowed.

"Yes ma'am right away. " She said. Her pale blue eyes were framed with thin half-moon glasses. Her golden hair was tossed into a messy bun that was almost falling out.

"Those of you here for the inspection please follow me!" She called out. Julie turned to the other girl.

"Anita, please take these soldiers to the living quarters. They are very tired. "

"Yes Ma'm" She responded quietly.

Hoffman decided to have lunch with the two oldest there, Julie and Morgan. They were good company for him, as well as very informative people. The three sat in the mess hall, barely touching there food, as they were too busy caught up in conversation.

"So it seems that you still have ve ry good order in this palce. The Chancellor will be glad to here that. " Hoffman said.

"Well, it doesn't take a lot to keep the girls in line. I don't know why but the seems to change that way once they realize why they are here." Morgan said. She took a sip of her pitch black coffee.

" Speaking of which, how is the training going? I hear the younger ones are quite the shots at the range."

Julie smiled at the praise.

"Yes they are. Because unlike all of the older girls, the younger ones get the newest , and more efficient versions of the physical alterations. It makes them a lot more useful then people like Morgan and I."

"Well don't sell yourselves short. From what I understand you two do most of the teaching here right?" Hoffman asked.

"Well, Morgan does, I simply spoil the girls." Julie laughed. She seemed to be the only one amused but she didn't let that stop her from smiling.

"It's strange, I find myself having to do less teaching recently. Especially with the new ones. I think they are starting to teach each other the right way to do things." Morgan said.

"Really? Then there must be a really good structure among them."

"Heh, same as ever. It's a system built entirely of admiration. They look up to the stronger ones in the group, and they get to shoulder all the responsibility. But what the hell it makes my job easier." Morgan said.

"And who are the admired here?"

"They are...."

"Elsa ! Freya! The doctors from Hoffmans division are here! " Quistis called out. Two girls turned from their cardboard targets to face Quistis. Elsa, was a tall girl with long blonde hair in two thing briads behind her back. Freya, left her pale brown hair down over her shoulders, and pushed her glasses up further on her nose.

"Really? Couldn't they pick a day where it wasn't so shitty outside?" Elsa cursed. She threw her lancer over her shoulder and walked over to the group.

"Alright what do you folks need? To observe or the questionnaire?" She asked.

"Both actually. We need to run checks on Helga Duchane,Rei Takata and Anita Stratton, as well as all of the the members of your squad Ms. Mcdonald. " Said one of the scientists, flipping through the papers on hid clip board. Elsa sighed in frustration.

"They sould be in the indoor range, go ahead and pull them out. I'll gather my squad at the clinic in half an hour, be there." She ordered.

"Thank you Miss." The group turned away and made their way to the small clinic where all of the testing was done.

"How did we end up taking orders from little girls?" One asked.

"Do you want to step up against them? I don't care if they are just kids, they still scare the crap out of me. "

"Why is that?"

"They could easily get rid of all of us Jeff."

----


	2. Prologue part 2

Prolouge: part 2

First up was Helga Duchane, the quiet , worthless one of the bunch. She stared back at Doctor Pavillion with pale gray eyes. Her bleach-white hair was held back with a black hair band. Her expression, was empty and sad.

"So tell me Helga, how has your training been recently? Have you had problems working with the other girls?" He asked. Helga started down to the floor.

"None with my aim. Everyone treats me well enough...well except for Freya-"

"What has Freya said to you?" Pavillion interrupted.

"She's always telling me to grow a spine. That I'm a soldier now whether I like it or not and I need to start acting like one. I try to I really do...I can't imagine that people will die because I can't step up but-" She sobbed. Tears started spilling down her pale cheeks. Pavillion jotted some notes on his clipboard, then looked back up to Helga.

"I'm sorry Helga, there isn't really much I can do to help your situation but-"

"Why not! I thought you all came here to help mold us into perfect soldiers! But everytime I pick up my gun I can't pull the trigger! Eveytime I tell you about it, there isn't a damn thing you do to help me fire ! Your not here to help us ! You jsut want to keep us as your lab rats!" She yelled. Her cheeks flared red from anger. Silence spread across the room. Elsa, Freya, and Morgan all stood beihn a one way mirrior, watchign the scene roll out before them. Elsa looked sad, but Freya looked annoyed.

"She needs to cool it..."She mumbled. Elsa smirked.

"Finally, someone isn't afraid to stick where it hurts to those ungrateful bastards." She laughed. Morgan glared at Elsa, but she said nothing.

"Alright, who's next?" Freya asked. Elsa shrugged.

"I think they jsut have to finish physicals on Lila and Eleanor."

"Why don't you two go watch them? I'm going to stay and have a little chat with Helga" Morgan said.

"Alright, if you say so. " Elsa said. She headed for the door with Freya following close behind her.

"You think she's going to scold her, or sympathize?" Freya asked.

"I dunno. Maybe a little bit of both." Elsa responded.

They watched Eleanor first. By the time they caught up with her, she was demonstrating her physical combat skills with Julie being her partner. She moved faster than Julie, and the strikes she made with her knife would have been deadly if Julie didn't block each one. But barely.

"As expected. She's demonstrating as if she was really trying to kill her partner." The doctor said in astonishment.

"We can't afford to hold back, so when we train our goal is always to wound if not kill our opponent. Whether they are a fellow sister or not." Freya said. Eleanor finally succeeded in wounding Julie. A long slice appeared at her side. She stood strait as if she didn't even feel it.

"I yield" She announced. Eleanor silently bowed to her friend then turned around.

"Is that everything Doctor?" She asked.

"Yes. Your free to go."

Eleanor bowed to Freya and Elsa as well, before walking away toward the living quarters.

"Is Lila already done" Elsa asked the doctor.

"Yeah. She got done just now. You and Ms. Clemmens are the only ones left. " He responded. Elsa sighed.

"Let's just get this over with."

Helga was sitting in the hallway with Morgan right beside her.

"I'm sorry. I really don't mean to cause trouble like this. I just get so frustrated with them. " She said.

"I can understand that. But you do know that the only way to solve your problem is to just grit your teeth and bare it."

"I know that...but I just can't stand any of this. It feels like I'm not even human anymore. I can kill things with my bare hands, I barely feel any pain, and I have strength and speed that is way beyond normal humans...but why can't I hold a gun and pull the trigger? Why should it be so difficult for me?"

"Keep in mind that we were engineered to fight Locust. If you just imagine a locust in front of, threatening to kill you and everyone else around you, I'm sure you'll have no problem going off to the front line. "

"What's that supposed to mean? Killing things is never easy! Whether it be threatening or not-"

"I know it isn't. You get scared, you panic, but trust me if you use your head out there, there is no way you''ll mess up. Even if useing your head means tuning eveything else out."

Morgan got up from her seat and looked down to Helga.

"Take up some extra hours at the agility course. Sometime soon some of us are going to be deployed. And we all need to be in our tip top condition" She said.

"Yes Ma'am. "

After the inspections were over, everyone seemed a bit relieved. On the outside they treated it with annoyence, but in truth it made them nervous when they were being examined. Whether it was performance or health inspections, it didn't matter. Elsa layed back on her bed. She looked at her sleeping roomates. Nadine wasn't even under the covers, and Freya forgot to take off her glasses. Eleanor wasn't back yet. "_She's probably still eating dinner. She did work really hard today"_ Elsa though to hersel. She took off her green buret and slid off her muddy boots. The sheets were cold against her skin, but she was too tired to care.

In truth Eleanor wasn't at the mess hall. She was still at the targeting range. A rifle was nuzzled up against her shoulder.

"Still practicing at this hour?" Lila said. Her southern accent was strongly heard in her voice.

"I've got nothing better to do." She responded.

"Really? Have you tried sleepin'?" She teased.

"I'm not tired. "

Of course, member of the Sorelle unit were physically altered so that their bodies were experts at energy consumption. They could go days without sleeping as long as they had a little nutrition. Normally water was enoguh to keep them going. Most of them slept nights away simply to pass time, but it wasn't really necessary.

"You know, some of us are going to be sent away soon. There is no way to tell how many either. "Lila said.

"Yeah? Has security for the camp been figured out yet?" Eleanor asked.

"I dunno. That's something to ask Mitsuzuri about."

"...Do you want to go out there Eleanor?"

"What makes you think I would?"

"Your always training. It's like your just itching to go out there and shoot something for real. "

"....I just want to see if all of this effort on us is going to help save some lives or not. That's all. "

_4 Weeks later _

"It's actually rather empty huh? " Rosa said as she fiddled with the ends of her hair.

"Yeah. It's almost eerie. " Elsa added.

They stood in front of one of the empty dorms. The nameplate on the outside of the door read .

D. Helga

S. Anita

A. Lila

G. Rosa

The bed where Helga normally slept, was stripped of it's bedding. Her rucksack was gone, as well as her sidearm.

"Are you worried about her Rosa?" Elsa asked.

"I have faith in her if that's what you mean."

" It's not. Do you want her to come back? You as an individual?"

"Of course I do. I can't think of a person who I would want to see return, more than my Helga."

Helga wasn't the only one sent out. Quistis and Julie got sent strait to Jacinto to help with defenses.

Everyone at Iris eagerly awaited their return, not only for the sake of knowing of their safety, but for news. With the camp being on the mountain, it was hard to get any details on the war. Even if it was their whole reason for living.


	3. Prologue Part 3

It was gray outside, but no rain. Camp Iris in it's entirety , were assembled at the meeting hall. They all wore their assigned clothes, and their Cog tags. Their ranks were formed perfectly.

Morgan stood at the podium. Tears were barely springing from her eyes. The letter she held on to tightly , was tearning at the edges from her hard g rasp.

"Our friend, Helga, Luanna Duchane, was killed in action on September 4. Two weeks after heading for the front west of Ilima. " Morgan said. It took all her willpower to keep from crying . Some of the girls were already breaking down in tears. Freya stood unphased by the news, Rosa stared at the ground and let tears stream down her nose. Even Elsa cried a little.

"Unfortunately, because of the nature of her death, we were unable to obtain her body. But she will forever remain in our memory. And we will not let her sacrifice be in vain. "

The service continued for another twenty minutes. After that, Rosa went with Anita and Lila to finish clearing out Helga's belongings.

"Did she have any family? I think we should sned her things back to them if we can." Anita said. She wiped away whatever tears were left on her face.

"No. Her mother and siblings were killed, and her Dad died in service not long after Emergence day. She had no one..." Rosa said. He fists clenched tightly around the cardboard box that was holding what few possesions Helga had.

" She had you." Lila said. She opened up Rosa's hand and placed a necklace in her palm. It was a rose shaped pendant on a golden chain. Looking at it was too much for her to bare, and she immediately broke down in tears once more.

Elsa and Julie stood in front of Helga's locker in the barracks. Silently staring at the name plate.

"Apparently she died protecting a soldier during a short pull back. It was a bad wound to her back. They say she might have died slowly but...."

"But?" Elsa muttered.

"Do you think she regretted it? "

"I don't think Helga was that sort of person. Either she did it to save that man's life, or it was a way for her to die. Whatever reason she had, I'm sure she wouldn't regret it. " Elsa answered. She opened the locker and began shufflign Helga's training clothes into a box.

Over the next couple weeks, Hoffman came back to the camp to offer his condolences. Surprisingly , the soldier Helga died protecting showed up too. He promised in fornt of the whole camp not to die. Because if he did, he wouldn't forgive himself for letting Helga die for him. He was sure the rest of the camp wouldn't forgive him either.

Months dragged on, and the sisters rearely saw their friends leave for the field. Even the elite, like Elsa and Freya were kept at camp.

Mitsuzuri , once again found herself at her post in the tower. She had a cat's cradle woven between her fingers, when a sudden shift in the distance caught her eye. She started at the dark spots in the horizon , until several speckles of white dispersed around it. Locust. Without hesitating, she sounded the alarm , and the base came to life. Base Iris, was under attack.


	4. Chapter 1:Stress Reliever

Elsa opened her eyes. "_Just a dream"_ she thought to herself. She sat up and surveyed her surroundings. A starry sky was layed out above her. The towers of the falling city of Jacinto loomed in the distance. Her Cog unit, Delta squad, lay strewn about in exhaustion.

"No rest for the weary huh Marcus?" Dom said. He grabbed his Lancer and stood up.

"Well at least we're just on patrol tonight. " Baird said. He sat up and stretched. Elsa held her Lancer close. The teeth on the chain barely tocuhing her skin . It lined up with the scar that slashed down her left eye.

"No change for awhile huh?" She said. Not surprisingly, Marcus didn't turn back to look at her.

"No. Don't think they would attack from this side anyway. This part of the city is to barren to provide cover."

"Careful they may use reverse psych on us" She teased. Carmine chuckled a little.

"But then again I suppose that's why they stuck out here all the way in the boondocks." She sighed. She leaned back and stared up at the sky.

"You okay Elsa? I dunno you seem a bit-frustrated..."Carmine said.

"I just woke up from a bad dream. It doesn't help that I'm anxious for some gunfire to break out." She responded. Her eyes never left the vast sky.

"Chill out man, whateva happens, I'm sure everythin is gonna be fine" Cole said.

"Yes, please share your optimism with the rest of us" Dom said. Elsa stared at the back of her commanding officer. She pieced the image together with that of Morgan. The scene of her looking back at the smoldering ruins of Base Iris was all to fresh in her memory.

"Let's start making our way back to the city." Marcus ordered. "They might need our help there."

"There have been a lot more mortars going off "Dom said. Elsa sprang to her feet and held her lancer close. In all honesty , she was eager to shoot something. The memories that popped in her head as she attempted to sleep, were nothing but unpleasant, and frustrating.

Here she was, stuck in a Cog squad, and her friends, her sisters were out there somewhere else in the world. Either fighting on the ground, or possibly even buried in it.

As they drew closer to the city, the sound of mortars flying through the air becaem louder and louder, until they finally arrived at the sight of their firing.

"Control this is Delta, we've arrived at the northern city front, we're gonna give these guys some support" Marcus said over the radio.

"Roger Delta. Be careful"

Anya's voice was rich with worry. As soon as they downed the stairs, Everyone ducked into cover. Elsa clicked the safety off form her Lancer then leaned out a tad bit. She lined up a shot almost instantly. Without even hesitating, she pulled the trigger. A shower of orange bullets rushed into the Drone's forehead, showering the ground with blood.

"Nice shot" Carmine complimented. He ducked down then leaned out. She remained silent. Every time she laid eyes on a locust, rage boiled inside of her. She couldn't help but see the faces of all of the friends she lost to their disgusting kind. Helga, Quistis , Rei and Mitsuzuri, even Julie and Morgan fell to the locust. "_Son of a bitch. What the hell am I thinking of at a time like this"_ She cursed to herself. She slid a fresh magazine in and dashed out the side of a run down car. She looked back at her team to confirm positions. Everyone was behind her, firing, reloading, ducking their heads. The sound of rushing gunfire became muffled by her own breath. It wasn't fear that crept into her, but excitement. This is what she lived for. She quickly snapped back to reality, when she noticed the Drone creeping around the rear end of the car she was using for cover. She dashed at it , her pistol in hand. The= barrel of it's gun was pointed at her face for no more then a second before she got behind it and her combat knife at it's throat. The gun was pointed outward and she proceeded forward. She could feel the body pulse as bullets smashed into it. Which ever direction the shot came from , she turned to it and shot the first thing that moved. Most of her shots landed perfectly, either crippling her enemy or killing it instantly. Perfect aim was one of the gifts she received from joining the Sorelle.

Her team moved forward, and they successfully breached the Locust lines in front of the library. When the attack finally ceased, Elsa took the time to scan for any Locust who though t they could crawl away. She was very fortunate to find one. It's leg was a bloody mess. Upon seeing it , she couldn't help but feel ashamed for not seeing it earlier.

"Whoa where do you think your going." She said. A sick smile was on her face. Delta squad stood behind her , and stared in confusion. They rarely saw this part of her. She pulled her knife out of it's holster then kicked the drone around so it was looking right back at her.

"Um...Elsa....I don't think we have..." Dom started. Without listening to him, she drove the knife itno the Drones mouth, then gave it a quick tug , ripping it's jaw from it's misshapen face. Blood splattered all over her white shins.

"You son of a bitch" She cursed. She pulled out her pistal and shoved it into where the drone's mouth used to be, and pulled the trigger a total of 6 times. The same number of Sisters that were confirmed dead.

"Feel better?" Baird asked with his smartass tone. Elsa sighed then grinned.

"Loads. You have no idea" She said. She flipped her blonde braid over her shoulder.

"Anyone hurt?" She asked.

"Not really, just a little worn out." Carmine said. Elsa smiled softly.

"That's good."

She liked the rest of her team, but she liked Carmine the best. His gentle nature was deceiving, but he was honestly a good soldier. She seemed to be the only one to give him enough credit. Over the time that she had been with Delta squad, the two had grown to become good buddies.

Even though she thought of Delta as her new family, she could help but miss the old one. What bothered her most, was that the rest of the Sorelle, the some odd dozen, where all listed as MIA. To her, that didn't give much hope.


	5. Chapter 2: Cold Treatment

Jacinto was a mess. The halls of the hospital was littered with stretchers. The wounded gears laying on top of them were all bloody messes. Elsa wondered where the staff of the hospital was. She couldn't help but picture Anita there, slaving away in an attempt to make the gears new again. She was always best at being a medic than a front line soldier.

"Elsa! Let's go!" Marcus yelled.

"Alright!" She followed her squad into the heart of the hospital. It was a makeshift headquarters, complete with the chancellor and Colonel Hoffman to boot.

"Been to Long Fenix, it's been to long." The Colonel greeted. He saw Elsa standing behind him a saluted. She simply waved back sarcastically . She shifted uncomfortably in her postition along the wall while the Colonel and Fenix started with the status reports.

"You seem rather anxious Ms. Elsa" Prescott said. He leaned up against the wall next to her.

"What makes you say that?" She responded sarcastically.

"Her holding you lancer awfully close. and look-safety is unlocked." He said flipping the safety to 'on' . Elsa couldn't help but glare at him.

"We are in the middle of the Locust hot spot. They could storm into this place any second. Then what?" She snapped. Prescott patted her shoulder.

"A rose that blooms in the battle field. I didn't expect anything more from someone like you Elsa Mcdonald. Just like your comrades. " He said.

"Well it's what you made us for isn't it? To fight for you."

"Yes yes that is true, but it's not your Raison D'etre is it? No , you exist to 'save lives' as the late Sinstra said it."

"Quistis only said that for motivation. It's what Helga would have wanted. Rather then to think of existence for killing, why can't we think of it as to save the lives of as many of your men as possible. It's the only real way for me to exist." Elsa said. She ran her finger along the chain that ran around her neck. Her cog tags hanged on the end, standing out against her white neck.

"If it gets the trigger pulled, then I don't really care why you say you exist." He said. He left her to get a status check from Fenix. Her eyes slowly drifted to the rest of Delta. They stood cautiosly at the entrance of the hospital. They had their Lancers at easy reach as well.

"So he only treats me oddly.....Probably because I'm a girl." She thought to herself. The ground shook where a mortar exploded in the distance.

"Well Fenix, you know what to do. "Hoffman said, concluding their "briefing"

Marcus turned back to his team.

"Let's move out. "

"Where to?" Baird asked.

"To the streets. We are to make our way to the southern edge of the city, towards Ilima. There are emergence holes popping up everywhere down there."

"Are we going to be the only ones down there?" Elsa asked.

"They want us to be the first impact."

"That's a little harsh" Dom said looking to Cole, who simply shrugged it off.

"Well we got a trump card don't you think Dom?"

All eyes fell on Elsa.

"Yes sir..."

_That's the way it always was. Even before Iris fell. We were used as trump cards. We could take almost twice as many hits then the gears, and not in armor to boot. We were faster stronger, and we barely had any emotions to effect our judgement. I always wondered why they didn't start applying the successful physical conditions that they put on us, onto their men. Probably because they had no idea how it might effect them. After the base fell, it was made impossible to find out. _

_But even if I was only a "trump card" I liked it that way. When it was like this, that gave me a chance to protect my team. It was mainly because of the promise I made with the sisters, it was a promise we all made with each other._

----

I'm having a hard time remembering the chronology of gow 2. my xbox got the three ring of death so I haven't been able to play recently...MICROSOFT HURRY UP WITH THAT SHIPPING LABEL! DX

reviews and critique would be appreciated.


	6. Chapter 3: A memory

_A memory _

After her memory of Seth was altered, Eleanor spent a week simply laying in bed. No one chewed her out about it because they knwe it was hard on her. She simply stayed curled up on her bed, with the lights turned off. Nadine sat on the bed across from her , and simply stayed quiet. Her dark skin made her hard to see, but Eleanor knew she was there.

"Nadi....was I there when Seth died?" Eleanor asked.

"Yeah Elly...you were there."

"Then why dont I remember it?"

Nadine strained her mind trying to think of ways to cover up the truth, with out fully burying it.

"After he passed, you fainted. The doc said that too much trauma was building up in your brain and it caused some of your memories to disappear. After all, you were barely over Helga's death. "

"I see."

She rarely said anymore than that. She wouldn't even speak to Freya, who treated her coldly for some reason. She would always say : "It's your own fault that he died" but she would never tell her what she meant. "_How is this my fault? I didn't know he was sick. I had only just met him."_ Eleanor said to herself. She tried to think of ways to explain why she was so confused, but like her silent friend sitting across from her, they remained unseen.

Over time, Eleanor recovered. She convinced herself that nothing could be done about it now, and that the only person that told her that they loved her, was somewhere else, away from a bloody war.

"You aren't sad anymore?" Lila asked her. Eleanor kept her eye glued to the scope on her sniper rifle.

"No good will come out of me being sad about it forever. Besides, Freya is right, I shouldn't let this bother me. It's not like I liked him back or anything." Eleanor responded. She didn't see it, but Lila was gritting her teeth, and her grip on her pistol tightened immensely.

"But Elly...you did..." She whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"No. I was only agreeing with you. I'm glad that your back to your usual self. "

Everyone noticed, that after Eleanor had recovered, she didn't like the rain. On days where it washed over her skin, her breathing got heavy and fast. She would star shaking. Even though she tried to continue training as normal, she could bring herself to calm down.

"Maybe you should rest" Morgan would say. Eleanor would agree. When she went the clinic to see if there was anything wrong with her body, the results came empty. She was fine on the outside. But everyone knew. Even if Eleanor herself didn't remember, her body did. The rain, felt the same way as blood, slowly washing down her pale skin. Dripping form her eye lashes, dying her pearl white skin with crimson. She never knew.


	7. Chapter 4: Reunion

It was raining. Not enough to fear for razor hail, but just enough to get everything damp. Elsa leaned against a crumbling cement road block, while staring up at the gray sky above her. Ben was sitting next to her, calmly inspecting his Lancer, than his rifle, tan pistol. Elsa didn't fidget at all. Her Shotgun was layed across her lap, half loaded with shells.

"You tired Els?" Carmine asked. Elsa wearily looked down to face him.

"Yeah. Just a little." She responded.

"Hang in there, things will let up soon. " He said. Elsa smiled faintly.

"I don't know if you mean the weather, or the war...but-thank you" She said serenely. She got reloaded her shot gun and clipped it to her back. Everything was quiet .

"I meant the weather-"Carmine said with a chuckle.

"Really? I actually like the rain. It's refreshing don't you think?"

"Yeah if you like getting mud all over yourself."Baird interrupted. Elsa laughed.

"I'd pick mud over blood."

"Ours or theirs?" Cole chimed in

"Theirs of course. "

Delta was in truth, waiting for a rig to come pick them up. The plan for an all out attack on the locust was moving. Several Derricks had already stopped by and started moving soldiers toward Landown. Delta was simply waiting for their ride, along with a handful of other gears.

"Hey! I think I see it!" Carmine said. Indeed there was a rig heading their way, a safe distance away of course.

"Keep in mind this isn't going to be a cruise" Marcus reminded. Elsa got up and readjusted the load on her back.

"Yeah I'm sure we all know that." She said. Cole got up after her , followed by everyone else. The rig suddenly stopped a few kilometers away from the squad, and gun fire erupted.

"You think they're under attack?" Elsa asked, looking to Marcus.

"Only on way to find out" He replied. He slid don the side of the hill, and made his way toward the rig. The rest of his team didn't hesitate to follow.

"Hey, what if it just broke down or something? We don't have to assume that they've been hit" Baird said. Elsa sighed in irritation.

"Well either way we would have to trudge through all of this forest. Dontcha think?"

"Huh...good point." He said. The grouped dispersed into various positions once they confirmed that hostiles were in the area.

"Marcus, we gotta move. We don't know ow long the defenses on the rig will hold out."Elsa said over the radio.

"Move in carefully, and don't get blown away" He said. Elsa was the first to move out of cover. "_If I can break through fast enough, there will be less fire on them"_ She thought to herself. The first locust that saw immediately open fired. She dodged most of the shots, but a bullet barely grazed her ankle. The pain only lasted about a minute, which she spent ducking behind a fallen tree and sending out short controlled burst of gunfire. "_I gotta find that hole"_ She thought to herself. Without leaning out too much, she scanned the area around for the emergence hole that the locust were crawling out of. Once she set eyes on it, she didn't hesitate on getting close enough to lob a grenade into it.

"Elsa! Pull back a little your to far!" Dom yelled. She looked back and noticed that he was right. She pulled back to her tree , where Marcus and Cole were ducking from fire.

"Be careful when you do that!" Marcus scolded. Elsa scowled.

"I think I know what I'm doing Marcus Fenix ! I don't need you to lecture me!"

"Yo could you two argue 'bout this later?" Cole said. Marcus and Elsa immediately shut up. They poured all of their rage into the opponents in front of them, eventually clearing the way for them to advance. Carmine was the first to notice that Elsa was moving a bit slower than everyone else.

"Hey! Are you okay? Your not hurt are you?"

"heh, it's my fault for never wear Gear gear like you guys. But it's only a scratch."She replied. Carmine purposefully slowed down to cover her. It was than that a small bit of guilt shrowded her mind. "_Even if it's something small like this, please don't risk your life for me"_ She screamed in her head. Finally, they made their way to the rig. Several gears stood in front of the open hatch, guarding the man trying to repair it.

Elsa quickly moved in with the other gears.

"You men get back on the rig! I'll protect him!" She said. The men quickly followed her orders than went up the latter.

"Howdy there! I assume you guys 'er the ones I need ta git" The man said. His accent briefly reminded Elsa of Lila. She had the same type of sound to her voice. But now wasn't the time to be dwelling on old memories.

"Team Delta here. How far are you from fixing her up?" Elsa asked .

"Not long, if you keep me alive that is. The name is Dizzy" The man said. Elsa ignored the formality.

She tried protecting Dizzy on her own, her team was behind the locust line that had formed around her. "_Dammit, I was too careless"_ She though to herself. She pulled the shot gun from her back and let out shells almost in rapid succession.

"Man yer good" Dizzy said from over his shoulder.

"It's what I'm here for"

"Hehheh, that's exactly what Lula said"

"Lula"

"A friend o mine. Bout yer age I think. "

Elsa mind went blank. The possibility of finding one of her sisters soon pooped into her head almost as fast as she pulled the trigger. "_Normal girls aren't allowed to be in Cog, it has to be one of them"_ She thought.

"Dizzy, when we are clear I'm going to need to ask you some questions. " Elsa said. Much to her joy, she could tell that the number of Locust surrounding them was gradually decreasing.

"Well fancy that! It's Elsa!" A voice called out. Elsa didn't have the opportunity to look up and see who called out to her. But all of a sudden , a figure landed in front of her. Dirt sprayed across Elsa's legs. She pointed her gun at the firgure in front of her, not knowing whether it was a friend or foe .

"I always had a hunch that you were alive. Someone like you doesn't die so easily. "The person stood up strait and stared back at Elsa. She had steely black eyes and short red hair that helped portray her fiery personality .

"Li-Lila. " Elsa whispered.

"We'll catch up later. Right now we need to get this spot clear" Lila said. She stood back to back with Elsa and let loose her own bullet shower.

Delta squad noticed the extra person, but they didn't pay it any mind.

Everything was still around them when they finally cleared the area. Elsa sat on deck, waiting for her friend to get a free moment.

"Do you know that girl Els?" Carmine asked.

"Yeah...we actually trained together...I'm surprised she showed up here, I thought she was dead." Elsa responded.

"How long do you think she's been serving? You think they would have let the head honchos know if a girl was still serving on active duty. " Dom said.

"That's cuz I'm not working under the name Lila. I'm actually not listed on Cog active duty at all. "Lila said.

"So in other words, Dizzy has been taking in a freeloader. " Marcus said.

"Hey chill. I've only been working with him since the operation started. And I'm more for offense than anything. Don't fret these guys needed me. "Lila said coyly. Marcus glared at her, than at Dizzy.

"She has been very useful. I thought all of these gals had been wiped out when their base was attacked " He said.

"What have you been doing up until now? If you haven't been with cog up until three days ago then what has kept you gong?" Elsa asked. Lila looked to her friend with a smile.

"Ever since Iris fell I've been keeping up with the stranded camps. I found some weapons from dead locust and I used them to protect them."

"Hey...Do you think that others got away that way?"

Everyone stared at Elsa with somber expressions. They wanted to tell her that it was probably hopeless to think that most of her sisters had survived without getting caught by Cog, but no one had the heart.

"Maybe. The stranded try their best to avoid cog. and it wouldn't be hard to blend in with them .but I don't know I've been on my own for awhile now." Lila said. Elsa looked down.

"Well who knows. If the others heard about this mission, they'll definitely rise up to fight." Lila said. She turned around and headed for the control room. She sat down next to Dizzy.

"Hey Elsa. I know you want to find your comrades, but now isn't the time to let this distract you. We need you to be at the top of your game" Marcus said. Elsa tried to smile.

"Yo man relax. I know my Elsa's got it togetha"Cole said. He playfully slugged Elsa's arm.

"Okay okay. Don't worry, there is no way I'll let you guys down " She said rubbing her arm .

_They're right. I can't afford to lose focus. I just found Lila again, and if I die, it will be harder on her to find the others. And I have to see them again. No matter what._


	8. Chapter 5: A confession

_A confession_

Helga got the letter 5 days before she was to be sent down to Jacinto. She held it tightly in her hands and stared it it's words typed in jet black ink.

"So you got the letter huh?" Elsa said passing bye her. Helga nodded slowly. Elsa pat her shoulder.

"Dont be afraid. We were made for this."

"Maybe you were...but I'm no good...You've seen me in training, I'm even afraid to hold a gun."

"It'll all come to you when your out there. It's like your body does the thinking for you. " Elsa responded

Helga simply stared back at her with scared eyes.

"Just focus on getting ready. I'm sure everyone will want to throw a good luck party for you."

"Well it's not only me going...Anita and Rei got it too."

"Well if you two can be together somehow that'll be good for you. "

Just as Elsa suspected, the mess hall was alive that night. Rei, Anita and Helga were the centers of attention.

"Be sure to kick some ass out there."

"We want some news okay? Promise!"

"We'll be awaiting your safe return"

Things like that kept circulating around . Helga tried to enjoy herself, but she could shake the sense of fear from her mind. Rosa stared at Helga from across the room."_I wish I could take your place Helga, nothing would make me happier than being able to erase your fear"_ She thought. Helga's eyes drifted up to Rosa's. She stared at her with an expression of terror, as if she heard what Rosa's thoughts were. Rosa simply stared back, blankly, before turning away and pretending to focus on Rei.

Helga headed back for her room early. She, Rei and Anita all had to be up early to get down the mountain for transport. Even though they were al leaving together, she doubted that they would end up fighting together on the field. "_I guess it can't be helped. I'll just...have to do my best" _She told herself. Without lingering too much on it, she changed into some warm pj's and got into bed.

Rei, Anita and Helga were all up early. And most of the other girls were up as well, just to see them off. Rosa stood in the crowd, eyeing helga with a look of desperation. She shoved her way through, watching Helga intently as she watched her turn towards the heavy steel gates , which opened before her. When she was in arms reach, she grabbed a hold of Helga and drew her close. The sounds of the chit chat behind her was complete muffled by her own heavy breathing, even as she whispered into Helg'a ear before letting her go, and turning away into the crowd. Helga stared at Rosa's back but drew her attention to Rei when she grabbed her arm.

"It's time to go..." She said.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry. "

The hike down was simple enough for the three of them, and the ride to their camp was smooth and quiet. Helga looked back at the mountain where their home was safely tucked away. Rei was staring up at it too, while Anita was found snoozing in her chair. Rei shifted her gaze to Helga.

"Did you say all your goodbyes?" She asked. Helga looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah. Plus some."

"What's that mean?"

"Well-Rosa said something strange to me right before we left. "

Rei looked at her somewhat puzzled, somewhat dazed. It was always hard to tell if she was ever interested in anything.

"What was it?" She asked.

"Te-amo...I think? Do you know what it means?"

"Nope. I don't speak Spanish."


	9. Chapter 6: The siege

Okay, I'm going to stray from the original time line and spice things up a bit, hope yall don't mind :p

Chapter 5 : The siege.

The ride was peaceful , but not for very long. Elsa tightly braced herself against the side of the rig as rubble hailed down on the rig, from a morter that smashed into the over looking cliff. Instinctively she scanned the rest of the topside. Delta was okay, save for the fact that Carmine was sprawled on the floor. She let herself go, and slid down to him.

"You hit?" She asked. He immediately steadied himself.

"N-no. I'm okay." He said.

Elsa looked back towards the captains door, where Lila had stationed herself on a turret. She looked back at Elsa and grinned.

"Look, we'll catch up later mmkay?" She said. Elsa returned the expression .

"You don't need to tell me that. Just be sure not to get yourself killed." She responded. She turned back over the side and lined up a shot. Shooting into the horde that expanded out before them, wouldn't do much, but it was satisfying to see a single head exploded in a beautifully dark crimson. She ducked into cover and looked over to Marcus for instructions. He wasn't doing much different then what she was. She looked at the single mortar that was laying on the deck, unmanned and fully loaded. _"No...save it for later."_ She thought. Lila was shooting down morters using the turret, so there wasn't much else anyone could do except keep the grubs from latching onto the side of the rig. Elsa re stationed herself by the steps and pulled out her shotgun. The kick from the gun was almost too much for her. "_Nadine was always good with these sort of things"_ She thought.

"Els, move!" A voice shouted. She did as she was told without even looking back . Lila stepped in, grabbed Elsa's shotgun and pulled the trigger. She wielded the weapon as if it was nothing.

"Go take my spot on the turret. " She ordered.

"Thanks I owe you..."Elsa said shamefully. Lila smiled as she pulled the trigger several more times then reloaded.

"You gotta work on your strength girl." She said playfully.

Elsa quickly took up the turret and continued firing down mortars. Where heavy equipment was never her specialty, she still had a deadly eye for accuracy.

"Arrgh! Are we fricken there yet!" Dom shouted. Elsa emptied another clip then rose up to check their location. To her dismay, Landown was not in sight. The rig jolted and everyone once again held on for dear life. Elsa looekd toward Lila's side and saw a boulder smashing against it. Lila herself had backed away a considerable amount. . The froce of the boulder was too much for the rig to handle, and everyone could feel it.

"Ah shit-! Everyone hold on!" Marcus shouted. Elsa knelt down and wrapped her arms around the base of the turret. She saw Lila and Carmine grabbed onto the ladder. She was genuinely terrified. She shut her eyes tight, and suddenly felt as if she was falling.

_"Elsa..."_ _A voice called out. It was Freya. Her hands were cold as they brushed over her forehead. _

_ "Damn it...looks like that test was a fluke" She cursed. Even if she was mean, no one could deny that Freya was beautiful. Elsa actually found herself jealous._

_"Elsa"_

_"Elsa..."_

"ELSA!"

Her eyes shot open, and saw Marcus leaning over her. "_A dream"_ She thought to herself. She slowly sat up, but flinched when her side erupted in pain.

"Where's Lila?" She asked.

"She's fine. The rig didn't roll over it just slid down the cliff and tipped. Come on we gotta get moving" Fenix said. He offered his had to Elsa. She took it gratefully, and Marcus quickly hoisted her onto her feet. The eruptions of gunfire and mortars could still be heard in the distance.

"I hope they didn't move to far ahead." Dizzy said. He sided by Dom and pulled out his own shotgun. Lila went over to Elsa.

"Glad to see your still alive. " She said. Elsa smiled. It was fir time since reuniting that they could actually afford to spare a decent comment to each other.

"You can have this back by the way" She said tossing her the shotgun. All the shells were gone.

"Tch..you owe me some ammo" Elsa teased. Lila laughed then looked up to the sky.

The squad continued to move, despite the fact that darkness would soon befall them. It was nice not having to worry about Kryll anymore, but with the beauty of night came the even more dangerous encounters with locust. Over the many years that passed since E-day, it became clear to humans that the locust had an easier time in the dark then they did.

"Yo Marcus...what are we going to do ocne it gets completely dark?" Elsa asked.

"Hopefully we'll find a safer place to hull up, then we can find a way to call for evac or back up or somethin."

His unsure answer worried her, but after serving with him for awhile, Elsa learned that whenever someone had worked with Marcus Fenix, that person had better be ready to wing it a couple times."


	10. Chapter 7: The fear

Ugh, this is like the third time I've had to start typing this chapter over. The first time it was almost done too DX

Chapter 7: Messing up

Delta moved through the thick woods as fast as they could in full gear. Elsa and Lila watched the rear sides while everyone else simply focused on advancing. The sounds of mortars, gunfire, and the screeching rigs could still be heard in the distance.

"Let's go Delta, Landown isn't too far. We might be able to make it there by nightfall." Marcus said. They all knew that they were probably close to being surrounded by Locust. They could hear shifts in the rock on the cliffs where they emerged from.

"What happens if we don't make it there by nightfall?" Baird asked. "_We're pretty much fucked then" _Elsa thought. She saw Lila glance at her and she knew that she had thought of the same thing.

"We'll keep moving. Nothing will be gained by staying put in the middle of a hot spot like this." Marcus responded.

"Alrighty then."

The woods were finally thinning out, and all that could be seen was rising smoke from the small city.

"Grub Hole!" Dizzy yelled.

Everyone immediately ducked into cover as they set their eyes on the emergence hole 40 yards down a small hill.

"Ah shit." Fenix cursed. Elsa reloaded her lancer with perfect timing and leaned out of cover to be the first to shower the locust with bullets. Carmine quickly followed suit.

"Someone get a grenade in there!" Dom shouted. His head flew back down as a stray bullet kicked the tree he was using for cover.

"Leave it to me." Lila called. She slid down several feet and sheltered herself behind a small boulder. _"Careful…."_Elsa thought anxiously. She kept firing, but couldn't help but watch Lila swing her grenade and throw it. It flew through the air and landed in the hole without straying.

"BOOM BABY!" Cole shouted. Lila covered her face as dirt from the explosion rained down on her. Delta quickly caught up to her and took out the remaining locust on the ground.

"Come on guys! Let's keep moving!"

Elsa helped Lila steady herself, and the two quickly caught up to the rest of their team.

Lila shook loose dirt from her hair, then balanced her Lancer in front of her.

They trekked through the deep woods, until finally the buildings of Landown came into view. As soon as they came into the town, they took cover behind cars and walls, and pushed back the advancing enemy. Elsa and Lila split themselves between two groups of gears, offering them as much support as they could.

"Mortar!"

They both ducked their heads, and the ground shook with the explosion. Elsa's eye caught on the thick red splash that had appeared at her right side. "_Was I hit?" _She thought to herself. She felt a small ounce of pain , but it quickly disappeared. She visually confirmed that the gears around her were still alive, before leaning out of cover once more.

Her eye instantly latched onto the drone carrying the mortar turret. She open fired, emptying a whole clip to ensure that it would fall. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that another grub whole had opened up to her left, where another gear was trying to hold off. She turned and dashed out. She couldn't hear any of Marcus' muffled yelling, or the sounds of bullets whizzing by. All she could hear, was the syncopated beat of her heart. It was advancing, he had only just seen it. "_What is this sensation?"_ . A repeat. She revved the chainsaw on her Lancer,and quickly stepped in to block the enemies own bayonet.

"Get moving!" She yelled to the gear. She managed to push the drone off of her, the orange sparks faded instantly as they touched the ground. "_Focus on the target then pull the trigger"_ . She aimed straight at it. _Click_. The magazine was empty.

"Shi-"

She didn't have time to finish her thought before she felt herself get hit three more times, causing her to stumble on her weakened side.

"Elsa!"

Lila quickly made her way over to her. She easily took out the locust in front of her, then kneeled to help Elsa back onto her feet.

"What's the matta with you? It's not like you to freeze up or be so careless." Lila scolded. Elsa didn't say anything. The chaos of everything around was starting to set in. Ticking. She quickly snapped back when she heard Dom screaming at them.

"Tickers! Take cover!"

Too late. One small little insect, set off right at Elsa and Lila's position. They braced for the impact, which knocked them back several feet. Elsa's wounds worsened, her blood covered most of her pale skin, tainting her blonde hair. Lila got up and stumbled, regaining her feet only long enough to fall on Baird's shoulder.

"Get a grip Kid! Come one!" He urged. He lightly slapped Lila's face, until she was able to regain her footing.

"Ah hell"Marucs cursed. He kneeled down by Elsa, who was now sitting up.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked. Elsa casually flipped one of her long braids over her shoulder.

"Hmph. Déjà vu" She said standing up. She held onto her side, until she was positive that the bleeding slowed down. One of the two shots she took previously had went strait through her thigh, the other not to far from her first injury. They weren't hurting, so she knew she would be able to go on.

"I'll be fine as long as I don't get hit in the head. C'mon lets go" She said, grabbing her Lancer.

Lila fell back by Dizzy. Her expression was riddled with worry.

"She hasn't been this frozen in such a long time."

"Yeah? When was the lass' time this happened?"

"When Iris was under attack. She lost it in a way that could've gotten us all killed."

"It better not happen again. "


	11. Chapter 8: Nadine

Chapter 8 : Nadine

Finally a moment's peace. Landown was successfully taken back after a full days worth of fighting. Nonstop, through the whole night. Elsa sat down by Marcus and closed her eyes. Her wounds were treated now, and she was already on her way to a full recovery.

"Don't you guys have to be looked at by special doctors? Aren't your bodies like-Different from normal humans?" Carmine asked. Elsa smiled at him softly.

"Yeah. They are, but we don't really have a choice. The only doctor who was capable of fixing our bodies is MIA"

"Were they in your unit?" He asked.

"Yeah. She was. "

_Anita…she could heal anything with her hands._

Lila sat down on Carmine's other side.

"Anita ? Man she was incredible. That girl could fix you up with just about anything!" She said cheerfully. Elsa was jealous of Lila's ability to talk about their family without getting sad about it. Or at least letting it show.

"Tell us about some of the other people in your camp. I'm a little curious about you guys now that I think about it" Marcus said. Elsa sighed, then racked her brain for a pleasant story to tell.

"How about a success story?"

The hospital room smelled of rubbing alcohol . It was making her sick to her stomach but all she could was stare at the ceiling with eyes that barely glowed with life. Her parents sat in the corners of the room, crying.

"How can she be expected to live a life like this? How can we put on of our own children through this?" Her mother sobbed. Her father put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I know honey I know. But we have to have faith in her. I know our baby girl can pull through this. I know that god can help her."

The mother continued to cry, while the girl's brothers and sisters stood around the bed.

"How are you feelin today Nadine?" The oldest sister asked. Nadine tried her best to put on a smile, and gently held her little brother's hand.

"I'm a little better today." She said. It came out barely as a whisper. She shifted her gaze to her parents.

"Momma, papa please don't cry over me. Please." She begged.

"Nadine...sweetie..." Her mom muttered. Nadine smiled again.

"Momma, I'm going to be fine."

But most everyone knew that she wasn't fine. All her life she had been confined to thgat room while her four siblings endured the war torn world outside. She knew that her parents were doing the best they could to look after her, but at the same time Nadine could see them reaching their limit. She wouldn't blame them for abandoning her. She was almost prepared for it.

Even if she was stuck in the room, at least she had a good view. Even if Sera was on fire, the sunset was still beautiful. A knock broke the silence.

"Come in." She said . She was surprised when two strangers entered her room. One, in full Gear armor, the other was a tall woman with hazel colored hair. She wore a white lab coat.

"Good evening Ms. Smith. I'm Colonol Victor Hoffman, this is Professor Trisha Heart. We are here to give a proposition to you. Would you like to hear it?"

Nadine's mother was furious.

"I will NOT let my baby turn into the Cog's little lab rat! " She yelled.

"Baby this could give her a whole new life. She could walk, run, be like a normal kid. "

"She would be a _soldier_. In exchange for this life she would be forced to kill, she could even die out there!" She yelled.

"Baby, maybe we should ask Nadine what she wants. It's her life, she has a right to make this decision."

"She's a child Jeffery, she doesn't know what could happen to her out there."

"I trust her. She is your daughter after all. I have faith in her."

Nadine stared at Hoffan and Heart, than back to her parents.

"It's your choice Nadine. Would you be willing to join the Sister's program?" Hoffman asked. Nadine looked out the window and sighed..

"Where does all this happen?"

"In a camp in the mouintains East of Jacinto. It's very safe, and you will be amoung otheres undergoing the same thing as you. " Heart said. Nadine looked at her parents.

"I think I'm going to give it a shot. " She said. Her mother covered her mouth as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Baby are you sure?" She sobbed. Nadine nodded.

"Momma I could do some actual good out there. I've sat here most of my life, taking medicines and bedding , probably form a soldier who could use it more than me. I think it's time I return the favor."

The discharged her not long after that. She seemed happy that she was able to get otu of that room. Her parents drove her as far as Jacinto before leaving her at the door step of the head quarters. She looked at her family one last time.

"Are you sure your going to be okay?" Jeffery asked. Nadine lifted her ruck sack over her shoulder.

" I'm going to be okay. You guys just stay safe alright? I love you all." She said. Her older brother and sister, and her 5 year old brother, all held onto Nadine's hand for a few brief seconds.

"Take care of yourself Nadi. "

Elsa took a final breath, signaling the end of her story.

"So did the conditioning work?" Carmine asked.

"Did it work? Nadine turned out to be one of the most physically fit of all of us. That bitch could carry a morter turret across the continent if you asked her. Lookin at her, I didn't even know she had been that sick until she told me."

"Wow. Someone like her would certainly be helpful. " Carmine said.

"Yeah...she would be."


	12. Chapter 9: The way down

Chapter 9 : The way down

There was a lot of work to be done that morning. Not only were there round the clock guard shifts, but all of the grindlifts needed for the operation had to be prepped for the drop. On top of that, Many of the rigs needed repairs form the seige of the previous day. Elsa was up before the sun, and took her lancer out for a walk aroudn the edge of Landown. The city itself was a mess, and she couldn't even imagine what it must have looked like before E-day. She sighed, and watched a cloud of her breath disappear into the cold air before looking up at the few remaining stars in the clear sky.

"Pretty ain't it?"

She turned around and saw Lila standing behind her, holding a shotgun.

"I tuned it up for you. The recoil shouldn't be so bad now." She said carefully handing it to Elsa.

"Thanks. I owe you one again." She said. She carefully looked it over then silb it over her back.

"You worried 'bout today?" Lila asked.

"Not really. I figure we'll get things done either way. We have to. "

Lila was silent for a moment. She simply watched Elsa stare at the sky.

" Hey Lila I have a question. " Elsa muttered.

"What is it?"

"After we all split up at Jacinto, you know, when we fled the base, where do you think everyone else went?" She asked. Lila chuckled slightly.

"What? Are you worried about them?" She playfully retorted.

"I know they can all handle themselves...but I'm just wondering if maybe they miss us a little. I mean- they were our family."

"Well I dunno if Freya would miss anybody, but Eleanor and Nadi sure would."

"That's not what I asked..."

Lila sighed.

"I can't say for sure what they would be up too. Hopefully not messin around with scum like stranded. Maybe they are helping out the cog like I was. "

"That's another thing- you appear to be just a kid to everyone else, so why did Dizzy let you help him out on his rig without reporting it?"

"Well, I demonstrated my small talent in engineering when Betty broke down once, we were attacked and I fought off a few dozen grubs while he finished. Afterwords he confronted me on why I did that and I told him our story. Wanna know what he said?"

Elsa remained silent, beckoning Lila to continue.

" He said' Well shoot ya know I've got two daughters just about your age.' And that was it. I asked him if I could tag along for awhile and he said he sure as hell wasn't leavin me. Ya know, it was like havin my own father again."

Elsa noticed a small smile on Lila's lips.

"I bet he feels the same way. "

"Hey you two give us a hand over here!" Marcus yelled. Both of the girls turned and saw him standing amoung the resrt of Delta, including Baird and Cole. Lila laughed again.

"Ya know if Nadine knew we were serving with _the_ Cole train, she would throw a jealous fit. "

Elsa laughed at the thought of it.

"Yeah. I know." They hurried off and started to Help position the lifts above the ground. Some parts of the operation requiered a high amount of engineering, something that Elsa didn't excel at. Not compared to someone like Baird in any case. She decided to help with a tideous labor of actually getting the lifts secured on the crane to be positioned. She got it done at one rig, only to dart off to the next one. Almost everything was done, when a gear ran to Marcus. He looked panicked.

"Something wrong private?" Marcus asked. The helmeted gear took two gasps of breath before standing upright again.

"Sir, we have visuals on several emergence holes on the north end of the city. Sir they are coming on us fast!"

Without saying anything Marcus hoisted his lancer up and darted back to where the rerst of delta was .

"Let's get to the north side delta we got grubs coming in."

No sooner had he given the order, explosions of morters and a storm of bullets came down on them. Elsa looked to Marcus, her eyes begging him for an order.

"Elsa! You and your buddy flank west and take out those morters!" He yelled. Elsa could hardly hear him, but fortunetly she was trained how to read lips. She nodded, signalign that she understood. She tapped on Lila's arm and gave her the signal. Elsa quickly got a visual on the locust morter crew. They had two drones at each turret. They weren't too far away either, but she didn't want to risk getting blown away by charging in for CQC. She simply pointed her lancer and pulled the trigger. As soon as one went down, the other open fired on them, forcing her to duck for several seconds while she inserted a fresh clip. Lila took the oppurtunity to take out the second, then turn to the other morter crew to the left.

"Theif. That was my kill." Elsa teased . Lila didn't look back down to her.

"Ya didn't call it!"

They stayed on that side even after they took out the morters, simply killing as many locust as they could from that point. Before long, Elsa heard static over the radio a nd pressed the reciever to her ear to hear better.

"Elsa Lila, get back here we're ready to drop!" Marcus yelled. Elsa pulled Lila's arm again and darted back to their designated drop sight. Lila saw Delta standing around giving the rig cover fire. The south islander Tai Kaliso was stading nex to Dizzy on the rig, also firing his weapon nonstop.

Elsa stepped into her lift , ducking her head as she did. Morters were still crashing all around her, and she longed to take out some of the hostile fire. Her eye caught onto the Locust that Tai and Dizzy stepped up to. For a few brief seconds she was terrified. But quickly snapped back to her senses when she saw Lila not to far off from Where Dizzy was standing.

"Dizzy c'mon lets go!" She screamed. Elsa could see that Lila was afraid for Dizzy's life. Judging by the looks of his new opponent, she understood why.

"Git your ass out of her Lila! I'll handle this." He said.

"No! I won't leave you Dizzy!"

He turned around to her for a few breif seconds, and shovved her into her lift seat with a forceful push.

"I said get goin! they're goin ta need you down there!"

Elsa closed her eyes as Lila screamed his name, and the grindlift door shut.

"Better get yourself strapped in. There isn't anything you can do now."


	13. Chapter:10 Enter Eleanor

Chapter 10 : Enter Eleanor

Marcus had lost sight of Elsa and Lila.

"Are they in their lift ?" He asked to Dom as he reloaded his Lancer.

"Yeah Dizzy saw them off." He replied. Marcus looked over his shoulder toward the eastern buildings where he heard the should of a girl yelling.

"Dom I thought you told me that Elsa and Lila left already!" Marcus yelled. He knew how a miscommunication could be costly.

"They did! Dizzy saw their door lock!" Dom yelled.

Marcus kept his eyes on the doorway. Then he saw the source of the voice. She had an outdated, Pendulum war Lancer mounted on her hip, and her shoulder length black hair was plated in two small braids that fell on her shoudlers. Marcus watched her stand in front of a gear and shoot down a drone before turning to him. Probably asking if he was okay. She couldn't have been any older than Elsa.

"Who the hell is she?"

He waited for the fire to calm down before making his way to where the girl had taken up arms with a few gears.

"Hey you. What's your name?" He said. She duckled back down after unloading a clip into a drone.

"Eleanor De'shelle. I'm a residenete of Landown." She said. She pulled out a snub pistol and let loose a rapid spread of bullets.

"You wouldn't happen to be one of the Sorelle would you?"

She froze slightly. Not out of fear, but surprise.

"How do you know?"

"Two of your friends were with us. Elsa Mcdonally and Lila Anderson."

She still wore that silent expression for a few seconds, but looked over the baracade.

"Let's clear this out then we'll talk."

She seemed different from Elsa. She seemed nice enought to talk to, but she has a strange bloodlust around her that almost matched Elsa. When it was finally clear enough, Marcus found a gear whose jump mate had been killed.

"Here take her. She'll do you some good." He said. The gear looked a bit confused but he didn't argue. Eleanor sat down in the grindlift and strapped herself in like a pro.

Elsa was sore all over, but she was glad that they landed.

"Lila? Lila are you alright?" She asked. Lila shook her head.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

They kicked the grindlift door out and bore their lancers in case there was company . Instead they were greeted with the soft glow of strange plants.

"huh- so this is what the inner hollow looks like." Lila muttered.

Elsa listened on her radio. static.

"Control? Control come in?" She called.

Lila tried her radio too.

"Marcus? Fenix are you there?" She called. They both listened carefully.

"Lila? Elsa? you guys there?"

Elsa was relieved to hear Marcus' voice.

"Yeah we made it down okay. What about you?"

"We're fine. But her, we met another Sorelle who was living in Landown. Eleanor was her name I think. She took a lift down with another gear. "

Elsa didn't know what to say. Lila looked just as surprised as Elsa.

"She isn't on a channel ?"

"Nah, sigma said there are a few seeders jamming most of the channels. Help them out if you find them. Watch out for incoming grindlifts. "

"Wilco. Elsa out."

She lifted her lancer a bit then looked to Lila.

"I know you want to find Eleanor as much as I do, but let's focus on this mission first. We need to see if we can find Sigma and those seeders. "

Lila nodded in acknowledgement , and the two started hiking farther into the hollow.

Eleanor unstrapped herself and looekd to her jump mate.

"Are you okay?" She asked. The gear unstrapped himself as well and then manuvered the door open.

"Yeah I'm fine dont worry." He said.

"What's your name?" She asked, pulling out her ancient looking Lancer.

"Benjamin Carmine."


End file.
